Back in the days when Doonesbury was actually funny (Duke as Ambassador to China or coaching the Redskins), there a great run of cartoons at the twilight of the Carter era and the dawning of the Reagan pre-apotheosis (1980-88).
Trudeau depicted this senior oil executive in the middle of the gas rationing crisis and Afghanistan, etc. He just sat on a sofa, martini in hand. Drinking himself into a stupor. His worried family asked him, shouldn’t you be out helping the president solve our energy crisis or finding new reserves? And all he could say with a blank thousand yard stare was, he needed tax incentives and rebates to get up. Otherwise, he just felt listless, so listless. Perhaps this one of those “you have to see the cartoon itself” kind of things. But it is all that Donnesbury has not been for decades.
We’re not going to delve into financial or tax policy at this time. Our philosophy (more of a guideline, actually) is one quagmire at a time. We are stealing that phrase today simply because it sums up our current political energy level and thinking watching this circular firing squad passing for Democratic politics. As you know, we’ve never been down with the Crown Prince. We still look askance at the Olbermann-esque vapors for him. We also are sad to see some of the foundations of the netroots splinter over the primary contest.
All the more baffling to see the enthusiasm proffered at dissecting yet more MoDo flatulence or others pouring over Lexis/Nexis quote dives for when a spiritual leader said this or who really shot at Sinbad (which is not totally inexplicable in an abstract sort of way) et al. We’ve only shared an alcohol fueled boat cruise standing next to Chuck Todd before he became CHUCK TODD and even then he was tedious in his fascination with the kind of political factoids give a jaunt to Karl Rove. We preferred ordering another round. Now we simply can not stand the angels on the heads of pins analysis of when Super Delegates, like the Justice League, will swoop in and save the day.
Recall the energy, mobilization and focus created by November 2006? Between then and today, so much squandered. McCain may even actually stand a decent chance of sitting behind The Desk. Listless . . . so listless.
We’ll return to our regularly scheduled non election broadcasts after the break. Same bat time. Same bat channel.
Comment says
It’s always amusing when he reveals himself unknowingly – as if by spasisms – He also thought there was something odd and highly provocative about Tina Fey saying she “could not get in touch” with Spitzer’s chick. He repeated that – stressed that he was quoting Fey. But we really could not figure out what was odd about that phrasing on Fey’s part – Especially since she was expressing something she was not able to do. It’s not like there was any difficulty in interpretating that normal expression. Anyway , it was odd and funny because Tweety is very bipolar when it comes to that scandal.
Dr.LeoStrauss says
Tweety was just on noting that Wall Street was getting billions in bail outs, but aggressively asserting that the average home owner can’t be helped because it would make us even more a third world nation by currency dilution.
The pain.
Comment says
What ever happens – we think it will be close – Either with HRC or Obama – We predict that Obama will campaign slyly by polarizing by indirection – He will be courting votes heavily in Dixie and smilar places , in part, to draw nasty fire that will polarize by lumping in, if only by implication, the more coded 527 campaigns.
He will do everything to make McCain all sectors of his support. Normally the gop is better at this – making all Dems carry the Jane Fonda milstone, no matter how hard they try to avoid. But this time, McCain will constantly be put in the position of having to disown an endless stream of Cunninghams and Rushs etc.
HRC, if she wins, will be much more straitforwad in her stragey – Social liberal scare campaign in the upscale suburbs. Ignore redest states etc.
But just wait – Obama will be giving liberal and provocative speeches in the Florida panhandle, Bama, Miss., rural Georgie – taking advantage of all that cheap media. The bourgeois media, as Conrad calls them, won’t “Get it.”
Comment says
Does McCain stand a chance? We have long thought so – We have met too many people who opposed the war, oppose Bush, and oppose the Movement, suggest they would vote for him. It’s enough of a variety of people we’ve heard looking for someone to close the open Iraq file (though we fear McCain will open more files – Iran etc) before a new regime can take over and start anew
Comment says
We do recall a Doonesbury when that exec was before a congressional committee defending the tax deductability of the three martini lunch as a job creator. Funny stuff – We had heard roughly similar logic from real humans/